From the abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provide readers the opportunity to see the planning, organization and delivery of an undergraduate course in the area of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). This course for is designed for students to thoughtfully engage in the interdisciplinary nature of STEAM. In the course students develop skills related to intersections between these content areas, and the construction and application of STEAM models for cross-disciplinary dialogue, inquiry, and problem solving. The discussion fits in the discipline of SCIENCE and contributes to the continued efforts in the science community to engage and create opportunities for interdisciplinary study for student work and research (p. 2).
Supporting Formative Assessment for Deeper Learning: A Primer for Policymakers
This primer argues that effective formative assessment is essential to successfully implementing new college- and career-ready standards. It explains what formative assessment is, how it works in practice, and why it is critically important in fostering powerful pedagogy and 21st-century competencies. It then contrasts the purposes and uses of formative assessment with those of other forms of assessment in a comprehensive and balanced assessment system. It also offers recommendations for policymakers at state and local levels in how to support formative assessment, and not unintentionally undermine it. Ultimately, this primer argues for formative assessment’s central role in fostering a culture of learning for students and teachers.
Overview of Major Assessment Types in Standards-Based Instruction
This overview is designed to help state education agencies, local education agencies, schools, educators, partner organizations, and other stakeholders understand the differences between major assessment types in standards-based instruction. Formative, Diagnostic, Interim/Benchmark, and Summative assessments are included. This resource describes how these various assessments differ according to their definition, purpose, format, frequency of administration, and classroom uses.
READi (Reading, Evidence, and Argumentation in Disciplinary Instruction)
This resource highlights the work of the Strategic Literacy Initiative at WestEd, and its correlation to the goals and vision of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), through a collaborative study with the University of Illinois at Chicago and others from 2010-2015. READi (Reading, Evidence, and Argumentation in Disciplinary Instruction) is engaging teachers to understand the cognitive processes that students will need to draw on in the course of developing evidence-based arguments, as well as to design the instructional interventions that will support students, and is designing research studies to measure the efficacy of the project interventions.
An Initial Learning Progression in Chemical Design
This resource is one of a series of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-based projects funded by the National Science Foundation. It is a document from the collection at the Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education, describing a two-year (2012-2014) exploratory project in which science educators at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and the University of Arizona collaborated to develop and test a learning progression for the study of chemistry, integrating the three major dimensions identified in the NGSS.
This resource is included within this collection as an example of the types of studies being conducted to develop coherent learning progressions within a discipline at this early stage of implementation of the NGSS, and as educational materials become available. Educators interested in research behind curriculum development based on NGSS goals will find it valuable.
School Environment Listening Sessions Final Report
This report describes work conducted for the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education (WHIAIANE). In conjunction with tribal leaders and communities, WHIAIANE conducted a series of listening sessions in October and November 2014 across the United States. At these sessions, students, teachers, parents, and community members shared their AI/AN schooling experiences, including insights into the quality of their school environments.
Testimony form AI/AN students, teachers, parents, and community members covers a range of topics, including school climate, institutional policies, and a lack of cultural awareness on the part of schools. Within the report, issues and concerns that arose from speakers are detailed, along with recommendations for addressing each concern. The Executive Summary includes recommendations for meeting the culturally related academic needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students, including actions the federal government, states, districts, and schools should take.